Tonsillectomy advice.

  As a child, I usually got strep throat at least 4 or 5 times a year. I usually got pneumonia once a year as well. I wasn't a "sickly" child, I had a high immunity to most things like dust, pollen, mold, etc. I grew up on a gravel road (always had dust blowing around), lived in the middle of the country surrounded by timber and fields, and my grandparents house (which was literally a football field away) was a hundred year old farmhouse. My dad smoked when I was a child, my grandma and grandpa smoked and we always had pets. But my frequent sickness wasn't due to any of the above. I don't ever remember a time when our family physician suggested I have my tonsils taken out, but it finally came up when I was 21.

  This is disgusting, but my tonsils were so big and scarred they looked like holey sponges and food would frequently get stuck in there. Eventually it would dislodge out of tonsil and it was nasty. An off white color
chunk of stink. A tonsil stone. My breath was terrible and I could barely breathe. Finally, I went to the doctor and they told me my tonsils and adenoids HAD to come out, they were some of the biggest he's ever seen. He also told me, he himself had his taken out when he was 23, and it was the worst. (Awesome.) I guess as an adult it takes you a lot longer to bounce back than it does a child. So, the doctor scheduled me for surgery, and as my luck would have it, I got bronchitis 4 days before my surgery. They were a little concerned to proceed as planned because the bronchitis would have me coughing and weak when I'm supposed to be recovering. But, they decided to go ahead anyway.

   The day of surgery I was so nervous. I've never been put under anesthesia before. The worst part was waiting for surgery. I had my IV's in, and my hubby was able to sit beside me before it was time. When they put the anesthesia in my IV, it almost felt like I was having a medicinal induced orgasm. (Weird, right?!) Everything felt warm and fuzzy, and my body felt numb-ish but I was jerking around. (Like when you start to fall asleep and unintentionally jerk around). Basically, it was like a weird amazing feeling haha! Then boom, I was out.

   When I woke up, the anesthesiologist was beside me talking to me. I don't remember what I was talking about, but I know I sounded like a babbling moron. I wasn't in any pain, just a drunken state of mind. They made me drink some water, and gave me time to "come to". The ride home wasn't bad. My prescriptions were already waiting so we just went through the drive-through to pick them up. I just remember sleeping a lot when I got home. My husband had to return right back to work the next day, so I was totally alone. (Thanks Air Force!) I had to take the dogs out to go potty while doped up. I wish I had that on camera. When it was time to take my meds, it was a race to try and eat and drink before I was knocked out. And despite what they tell you, DO NOT eat ice cream. It leaves a yucky fil
m on your wounds and stinks. Otter-pops or real fruit bars are a much better choice. I basically lived on lukewarm chicken broth, otter-pops, jello, applesauce, and ice chips. I used ice chips to my advantage. Suck on them long enough so your throat gets numb, then you can eat something without wincing in pain. The worst part was that I still had bronchitis and my wounds were cauterized, so coughing could possibly break them open. Then I would bleed a lot. And I was home alone, no family within thousands of miles and hubby at work. Talk about scary.

   After about 2 weeks, I was finally feeling okay again. I lost 11 pounds, I could breathe better, and I wasn't choking on my food anymore. It was awesome, for the first time in my life I could breathe! It's been about a year and a half since I've had them taken out. I haven't had strep throat ONCE since then. I can breathe a lot better. My only complaint is I have a very sensitive gag reflex now, if I have too much food in my mouth I'll gag. And only one nostril is partially clogged. It's gross, but when they remove and cauterize your adenoids, you dislodge the scabs. I only coughed up one. So I think there may be one scab that's still attached and nasty. I'm going to have to go get it checked out.
   So, in conclusion if your child or friend or spouse has to have their adenoids or tonsils taken out everything will be okay. Remember, no ice cream! If you have any questions or hilarious stories related to surgery, let me know.

   

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